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Chapter 75: Formless

“Is that so?”

After pondering for a long while, Ling Feng sincerely bowed his head slightly towards the Old One-eyed Man.

“No matter what, as long as there is hope, that’s more than enough. Thank you for your guidance, sir; Ling Feng will surely repay you in the future.”

“I dare not, I dare not…”

In the awkward atmosphere brought about by the sudden formality of the fortune teller, the girl stood up, creating some space at the square table.

Everyone’s gaze naturally focused on the last black-haired girl.

“Hey, looks like it’s finally my turn.”

The Priestess stepped forward.

From the two divinations done for Bai’er and Ling Feng, it was clear that the one-eyed man had some real skills; many details he had revealed were secrets even Miss Vilyric didn’t know.

Though he tried to speak vaguely to protect their privacy, the way the two girls reacted clearly showed that the Old One-eyed Man had struck a chord with them.

How could this not pique the Priestess’s interest?

When she first sat down, the one-eyed fortune teller appeared somewhat distracted, as if he hadn’t yet shaken off the previous divination, but when he noticed that the black-haired girl was staring at him with her silver-blue eyes, he quickly gathered himself and straightened his posture.

His expression gradually became serious.

Taking advantage of Xiao Yi rinsing the tortoise shell, the Old One-eyed Man initiated a question before the divination.

“May I ask your name, miss? I mean, your true full name.”

The Priestess was slightly taken aback before smiling.

“If you think the name I provided earlier was fake, can’t you just calculate that yourself? Why bother asking me?”

Shaking his head, the Old One-eyed Man calmly explained.

“The essence of divination is to pry into heavenly secrets. Regardless of the form, the principle remains the same. To sweeten the pill, we call it fortune-telling; to be blunt, it’s actually thievery. Though I pride myself on my divination skills, there are still locks I cannot open.”

“For ordinary people, I can glance and roughly determine their fortune and misfortune through their features. Past, future… even if that ‘lock’ is more exquisite and complicated, with careful thought, I can usually get a general idea.”

He pointed to Ling Feng and Bai’er, who were standing nearby.

“Like these two, including that rascal Murong Yun. Their fortune is far beyond ordinary people; from their features, I can only tell their status is extraordinary, and their destinies are twisty. I need more direct clues to deduce hints about such people…”

“But you are different.”

The fortune teller fixed his gaze on the delicate face of the black-haired girl, unbothered about being intrusive, he spoke frankly.

“From your features, I cannot see anything at all. You neither bear the fortune of wealth nor an official’s path, nor do you exhibit any sign of fortune or disaster, as if your face is shrouded in a thick mask, creating an invisible film that obscures all information. Such a phenomenon, I have never encountered in my decades of divination.”

“But I have seen records in ancient texts about such existences. According to them, beings like you may have a close connection with true gods who transcend causality, thus receiving their invisible protection, hindering outsiders’ prying.”

“In other words, you are likely entangled with… the great fortune of the entire Ancient Spirit Realm.”

“To be honest, the condition I previously proposed for the divination of the three of you was mainly for you. Though the identities of the other two are indeed remarkable—dare I say shocking upon closer inspection—when it comes to mystery, they cannot compare to you.”

The Priestess chuckled lightly.

“Should I say I’m deeply honored?”

The Old One-eyed Man shook his head again, his expression grave.

“No, it should be I who have struck it rich to be able to divine for you. This may be the toughest divination I have ever faced in my life; I will do my utmost and put forth everything I have learned.”

“I see.”

The black-haired girl nodded slightly.

“My name is Vilyric, and that is my true name.”

“Vilyric…”

However, the Old One-eyed Man frowned, seemingly puzzled by this answer.

But he didn’t press the matter further, only extending his hand.

“Bring out the divination tools.”

“Father…”

Meeting his daughter’s worried gaze, the fortune teller patted her young shoulder and took the already cleaned tortoise shell with white paper affixed.

“It’s fine; your father isn’t so fragile.”

He turned and handed it to the waiting black-haired girl.

“My apologies, please.”

Vilyric nodded inwardly.

Though he appeared cunning, he was actually someone passionately devoted to his craft; no wonder he had delved into divination to this extent.

Pondering, Vilyric picked up a brush and casually wrote a character on the surface of the tortoise shell.

As the ink fell, it seeped into the hard shell, sketching out more obscure and inscrutable characters.

The Old One-eyed Man retrieved the tortoise shell, gazing at the solitary character written by the Priestess, slightly frowning.

“‘Xī’? What does this mean?”

“Not much meaning, just wrote what came to mind. Is one character too few?”

“No, I’m just purely curious.”

He pulled out the white paper with characters stamped inside the tortoise shell; from an unseen angle, he held it in both hands and scrutinized it.

“Hiss… this…?”

For some reason, the Old One-eyed Man suddenly inhaled sharply, seemingly unable to comprehend; he repeatedly turned the thin paper before his face in three hundred and sixty degrees, as if trying to find something.

Such an unusual attitude and scene could only be understood by his daughter, who was also versed in divination; her expression became even more worried and tense.

“Father, could this be…?”

“Silence! Get the ritual tool!”

“Ah, yes, right!!”

The similarly dressed girl quickly squatted down, fetching a bundle from under the table, carefully unwrapping it to reveal a palm-sized bronze statue and three red incense sticks.

The statue looked like a humanoid figure, dressed in the same robes as the duo, holding a dust whisk, and wearing a golden crown, exuding an otherworldly aura.

Xiao Yi reverently placed the bronze statue before the Old One-eyed Man; for some reason, the front was facing Vilyric. She swiftly lit the three sticks of incense and inserted them into the already designed holes in the square table.

Slowly, the lavender smoke wafted up, bringing a noticeable but not pungent sandalwood scent, faintly enveloping the Old One-eyed Man who was studying the paper’s contents.

“…?”

Although Vilyric didn’t know the significance of this action, she could guess that now wasn’t the time to disturb him. After glancing at the equally confused onlookers behind her, she simply sat calmly and waited.

However, only a few seconds later, the three incense sticks that had been burning slowly suddenly ignited rapidly!

“Bang bang bang!”

They flared up simultaneously like firewood, flames visibly rising!

“Ah!!”

As if startled by some shock, Xiao Yi’s previously settled expression transformed into one of horror and disbelief; her clear, beautiful eyes widened, turning to the Old One-eyed Man, who was still deciphering the divination.

She wanted to say something but was too afraid to interrupt, watching the three incense sticks burn down at a visible speed, even making a hissing sound, and in just over ten seconds, half was already gone!

“Old One-eyed Man…”

Such an excessive and strange sight made even the laypeople present realize something was off. Murong Yun intended to raise a hand to intervene, but Ling Feng held his shoulder firmly, signaling him to stay put.

Both she and Vilyric could guess that this was probably a clever method to evade the scrutiny of heavenly secrets during divination, using the statue and incense to bear the invisible backlash.

Now, only the Old One-eyed Man could thoroughly grasp the situation and decide when to stop. Any unauthorized interference from outsiders could likely backfire and harm him.

However, no matter what heavenly secrets he had peered into, judging by the abnormal burning speed of the incense, it was likely a profoundly terrifying secret.

Moreover, time was running out.